News

Newman Starts 16th as Rain Cancels Qualifying Again

October 17, 2008

Photo Courtesy of Steven Rose

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 17, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will start 16th in the Tums QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday after rain washed out practice and qualifying today. It is the ninth time that qualifying has been rained out in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.

Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the field was set by the 2008 owner points. The No. 12 Alltel Dodge team is currently 16th in NASCAR Cup Series owner point standings.

"I wish we would have been able to get a chance to get on the track today," Newman said. "It seems like we have really been hit hard by rain on qualifying day this year. We weren't that happy with our run at Martinsville in the spring, so we are looking forward to improving on that and working on our setup tomorrow in both of our practices."

Newman has five top-five and six top-10 finishes in 13 starts at Martinsville. He finished 19th at the Martinsville track in the March race.

Coverage of the Tums QuikPak 500 begins on the ABC television network on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on the MRN beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports and celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2016. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 470 major race wins, over 530 pole positions and 30 National Championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. In its storied history, the team has also earned 16 Indianapolis 500 victories, two Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win and overall victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Team Penske currently competes in the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team also races in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, in a partnership with Dick Johnson Racing, as DJR Team Penske.